We had a comfortable night at the Walmart in Jackson, MI. Lady Luck was smiling again when she provided an open WiFi connection in the parking lot. We were able to research travel options, check email, and read about world news without having to leave the comfort of our Roadtrek to search out a WiFi hotspot. This is the first night in some time that we haven’t had rain.
I woke a couple times during the night and found we were just about the only car and definitely the only RV in the parking lot. Many times we find a lot of traffic in and out of Walmart Superstores regardless of the time of day. Not this night.
When I was a kid, I sent much of my allowance to Kellogg’s in Battle Creek, Michigan for just about everything they offered for just a box top and 25-cents. So, we just had to stop at Kellogg’s Cereal City in Battle Creek. Kellogg built Cereal City in order to keep tourists’ interest when they no longer offered factory tours. We had read that it was no longer open, which is true, but we had to see what the build was like. It seemed a little like what Hershey did in Pennsylvania. We didn’t like the Hershey thing and I’m sure we wouldn’t of like Cereal City but I wish we would have had the chance to experience our dislike.
I woke a couple times during the night and found we were just about the only car and definitely the only RV in the parking lot. Many times we find a lot of traffic in and out of Walmart Superstores regardless of the time of day. Not this night.
When I was a kid, I sent much of my allowance to Kellogg’s in Battle Creek, Michigan for just about everything they offered for just a box top and 25-cents. So, we just had to stop at Kellogg’s Cereal City in Battle Creek. Kellogg built Cereal City in order to keep tourists’ interest when they no longer offered factory tours. We had read that it was no longer open, which is true, but we had to see what the build was like. It seemed a little like what Hershey did in Pennsylvania. We didn’t like the Hershey thing and I’m sure we wouldn’t of like Cereal City but I wish we would have had the chance to experience our dislike.
Our next stop was Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI. We didn’t know what to expect and since this was just one day after seeing The Henry Ford Museum, our expectations weren’t high. But, were we surprised at the cars housed in the barns and out buildings among the farmlands of Michigan. Nearly 200 classic gas, steam, and electric cars were housed in 6 buildings. Muscle cars, luxury cars, prototype and true horseless carriages were represented. There was even an extensive collection of hood ornaments. Kiddy cars were hung on the wall around one building. Some of these were really old because I remember having one just like one that was on their wall.
The car “staring” in Walt Disney’s “The Gnome-Mobile” and the set used in film Gnomes were nicely presented.
Our last stop was the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, IN. This museum is housed in the renovated and converted administrative and engineering building of the Auburn Motorcar Company. More than 100 Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg cars are housed in the two levels of this building. Most have been restored but a few are unrestored. Of the unrestored, most are in amazing condition and a few will take enormous effort for their restoration. Each car had its ownership history, specifications, year and model displayed. We found the ownership history a real plus. This museum was a ”Duesy”
Both of these museums are rated at AAA Gems and we agree. We said this was turning into a Plane, Train, and Automobile vacation before we spent the past two days in three fantastic museums. These museums have only confirmed that to be the case.
We are camping at the Bixler Lake Campground in Kendallville, IN. It’s reasonably priced with electricity and showers. We decided to spend two nights here so we can have a little time to relax and catch our breath. We passed the country fair grounds on the way to camp and saw the Fair was in full swing. We’ll probably spend some time their tomorrow. I can almost taste the Italian Sausage and Pepper sandwich.
